United States House Of Representatives Elections In Pennsylvania, 2018

The 2018 United States House of Representatives elections in Pennsylvania were held on November 6, 2018, to elect the 18 U.S. representatives from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, one from each of the state's 18 congressional districts.

The elections coincided with the 2018 gubernatorial election, as well as other elections to the House of Representatives, elections to the United States Senate and various state and local elections.

In January 2018, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court struck down the state's congressional map, ruling it had been unfairly gerrymandered to favor Republicans. New maps were subsequently adopted in February 2018.

The 2018 general election saw the Democrats gain four seats and the Republicans gain one seat, for a Democratic net gain of three seats, changing the state's representation from 12 to 6 Republican to a 9–9 tie. In addition, Pennsylvanians in several districts elected female candidates to the U.S. House, thus ending four years of all-male Congressional representation in the state.

Redistricting

In January 2018, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court struck down the state's congressional map, ruling it had been unfairly gerrymandered to favor Republicans."Second, should the Pennsylvania General Assembly choose to submit a congressional districting plan that satisfies the requirements of the Pennsylvania Constitution, it shall submit such plan for consideration by the Governor on or before February 9, 2018. If the Governor accepts the General Assembly's congressional districting plan, it shall be submitted to this Court on or before February 15, 2018." New maps were subsequently adopted in February 2018, for use in the 2018 elections and took effect with representation in 2019.

Overview

Statewide

District

Results of the 2018 United States House of Representatives elections in Pennsylvania:

District 1

The 1st district previously consisted of central and South Philadelphia, the City of Chester, the Philadelphia International Airport and other small sections of Delaware County. Under the new congressional map that was in place in 2019 (represented per 2018's elections), the first district overlaps with much of the former 8th district, which was represented by Republican Representative Brian Fitzpatrick. Fitzpatrick took office in 2017, succeeding his brother, former Representative Mike Fitzpatrick. The new 1st district consists of Bucks County and a small portion of Montgomery County.

Republican primary

Candidates

=Nominee

=
* Brian Fitzpatrick, incumbent U.S. representative

=Eliminated in primary

=
*Dean Malik, former Bucks County assistant district attorney and candidate for this seat in 2010 & 2016

=Withdrawn

=
*Valerie Mihalek, former Yardley Borough council member and deputy district director for former U.S. Rep. Mike Fitzpatrick

Primary results

Democratic primary

The old 8th district was included on the initial list of Republican held seats being targeted by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

Candidates

=Nominee

=
*Scott Wallace, charitable foundation director and grandson of former Vice President Henry Wallace

=Eliminated in primary

=
*Steven Bacher, environmentalist
*Rachel Reddick, former Navy prosecutor

=Declined

=
*Diane Ellis-Marseglia, Bucks County commissioner

Campaign

The race featured a number of negative ads between Reddick and Wallace. With Reddick's campaign releasing an ad calling Wallace a “Maryland multi-millionaire” and stating that he had case an absentee ballot cast from his second home in a South African “gated luxury estate”. The Wallace campaign responded with an ad higlishting Reddick flubbing a question about the so-called “global gag rule” during a campaign stop in Ottsville, and for her having been registered as a Republican for most of her adult life.

Many DC Democrats expressed excitement about Wallace's potential to spend big to defeat Fitzpatrick, especially in the expensive Philadelphia market. He loaned his campaign $2.5 million while Reddick only raised $363,000 and was shunned by most party strategists.

Endorsements

Primary results

General election

Endorsements

Debate

Polling

Predictions

Results

Analysis

Fitzpatrick held out to win re-election, despite many similar suburban districts held by Republicans falling to Democrats in the 2018 cycle. Fitzpatrick did this by establishing a reputation for himself as an independent centrist who attained endorsements from several usually-left-leaning and nonpartisan groups without enraging the more fervently pro-Trump wing of the Republican party. Analysts considered the Democratic nominee Scott Wallace an unusually weak candidate: he was a wealthy heir who moved to the district, opening up accusations of carpetbagging, and made several gaffes and missteps. Editor Dave Wasserman of the Cook Political Report